Sam Hewitt

  • Remembering Fred Launchbury

    Remembering Fred Launchbury

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    Having read many classic bike and similar magazines over the years, I have never seen any articles about the late Fred Launchbury. He had a shop in Raynes Park, London SW20, and around 1963 I was working in a shop called Mowbray Motors in Wimbledon. I’d just bought a Norton Dominator 77 from the cheap…

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  • SIDCUP’S BIKE NIGHT FUND RAISER!

    SIDCUP’S BIKE NIGHT FUND RAISER!

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    THIS year’s Sidcup & District MCC’s annual Big Bike Night on Friday, July 6 will not only take place to provide bikers with a great evening, but to also assist the Ellenor Hospice, in Northfleet, to raise funds for its very worthy foundation. This is the fourth event and is being held at the club’s…

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  • Spitfire Sam!

    Spitfire Sam!

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    After taking off from the famous Second World War RAF fighter station at Biggin Hill, Sammy Miller MBE enjoyed two ‘laps’ of the Brands Hatch circuit from the cockpit of a Spitfire MK627, followed by an airborne loop to celebrate, on April 25. “It was the experience of a lifetime,” said Sam, “but I’m glad…

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  • Norton theme for ‘Stars on Stage’  at October’s fifth NMM Live event

    Norton theme for ‘Stars on Stage’ at October’s fifth NMM Live event

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    A ‘stars on stage’ event presented in association with Norton Motorcycles Ltd will be a highlight of this year’s free National Motorcycle Museum Live open day on Saturday, October 27. In the museum’s Britannia Suite, TT star, TV commentator and Norton factory test rider Steve Plater will host two free hour-long, Norton-themed chat shows, at…

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  • A sound like no other – Guzzi V8  at VMCC’s Festival of 1000 Bikes

    A sound like no other – Guzzi V8 at VMCC’s Festival of 1000 Bikes

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    If you’ve never heard the fabulous sound of the fully faired 500cc Moto Guzzi V8 grand prix racer, don’t miss the long-awaited relaunch of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s Festival of 1000 bikes at Mallory Park on July 7-8. With the support of Footman James Insurance Brokers, Bonhams Auctioneers, Mortons Motorcycle Media, Ricoh and the…

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  • Old Bike Mart cup for Tramway Village’s Classic Motorcycle Day

    Old Bike Mart cup for Tramway Village’s Classic Motorcycle Day

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    OBM editor Peter Kelly will be presenting a brand new trophy for the best classic motorcycle in original condition at the second Classic Motorcycle Day to be organised in conjunction with the Vincent HRD Owners’ Club at the National Tramway Museum at Crich, near Matlock, on Sunday, July 1. Following the popularity of last year’s…

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  • Pete’s Prattle

    Pete’s Prattle

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    Two readers’ letters in this issue raise niggling concerns about the future of classic bike riding, and I put the word in italics to emphasise the difference between riding and owning. In his emailed letter to OBM, Hugh Dixon says what a great day out he had riding his old Triumph Bonneville in the ‘Spirit…

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  • JUNE 2018

    JUNE 2018

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    NEWS DIARY DATES READERS’ LETTERS MADE IN JAPAN A BIT ON THE SIDE READERS’ TALES MODEL OF THE MONTH UNEARTHED FEEDBACK FROM OUR ARCHIVE CLASSIFIED SERVICES GUIDE CLUB CALL The next issue of OBM will be on sale on Saturday, July 7 – order your copy now!

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  • Dakar Rally hero Sam Sunderland  awarded coveted Segrave Trophy

    Dakar Rally hero Sam Sunderland awarded coveted Segrave Trophy

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    The Royal Automobile Club has awarded its prestigious Segrave Trophy to Dorset motorcycle racer Sam Sunderland for becoming the first Briton to take a Dakar Rally crown by winning the motorcycle category in last year’s gruelling event. The rally started in Asuncion, Paraguay, and ran through the vast, rugged terrain of Bolivia and Argentina, and…

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  • Thunderfest winners come  within a whisker of perfection

    Thunderfest winners come within a whisker of perfection

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    With a brilliant sun beating down from a cloudless blue sky it could have been Jerez rather than Derbyshire, but the Tarmac was melting at the Darley Moor circuit for the eighth edition of Thunderfest, which is a time trial rather than a race meeting, on Monday, May 7, writes Frank Melling. Competitors decide how…

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